Growth in Christ

Prayer: Day 1

| Karen

Ever had a friend you can talk to about anything? The good days and bad, the days you feel on top of your game, and the days you feel discouraged and defeated? How would you describe a relationship like this?

Close? Trusting? Genuine?

On the opposite side, we’ve also all had relationships where we dread being left alone in the room with them to carry on a conversation that never seems to progress anywhere. Small talk. Fake smiles. Perhaps it’s a person you’ve just met but you feel like they would rather be anywhere else than sitting with you. Perhaps it’s someone you’ve known a long time but there’s a history of hurt. Maybe you have to be around this person at work meetings or extended family gatherings but you’re just making an appearance, trying to be civil, putting up walls, and trying to escape as soon as socially appropriate. How would you describe this relationship?

Fake? Shallow? Wounded? Distant?

Which one describes your conversation life with Jesus Christ? See, prayer sounds like some fancy ritual or something “to do,” but prayer is simply conversation. Talking and listening, with God.

Simple, yet profound. The God who made the universe wants to talk and listen to you.

When my prayer life is strained or shallow, it’s because I have an unresolved issue with the Lord. Maybe unconfessed sin. Maybe anger or disappointment over life’s circumstances. Maybe busy-ness or distraction.

But the times I am closest to the Lord are when I can talk to Him about anything- on my good days and bad. When I feel at the top of my game or when I’m disappointed in myself. When I remember how deeply and unconditionally He loves me, it’s easy to talk to Him, listen, talk, and listen some more. He loves me not because of my own efforts but because He sacrificed Himself to make a way for me to approach Him boldly and with confidence, dressed in His righteousness which is the meaning behind what we celebrate today on Good Friday and this Easter weekend.

I’ve felt challenged in my personal life to pray more. And also to do 30 days of blogs on prayer, to encourage others in their prayer lives too. Some may be short, some long. But I ask the Lord that we all will grow in our ability to talk to Him about anything at anytime, to be real with Him about our hurts and sorrows and disappointments, and know He loves us consistently through it all.

Perspective

| Karen

I love to journal; it’s how I process each day, write down what’s on my heart, and remember the Scriptures God teaches me.

This week as I was making a list in my journal of several things on my mind (some health-related, job-related, family-related, financial decisions and goals, etc) I came across the story in Matthew 16.

Peter had just been praised by Jesus in verses 16-17:

”Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.“ (NLT)

Peter spoke based on something God the Father showed him, not any human being.

Unfortunately, only 5 verses later the opposite is happening. As Jesus tells the disciples about His upcoming suffering and death, see how Peter replies in verses 22-23:

”But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”“ (NLT)

Poor Peter. My heart goes out to him at times. I can relate. How often do I see something from God’s perspective only to turn around in the next minute and look at things merely from a human point of view.

I looked back through my journal list of 13-14 things on my mind… some involving decisions to be made, all involving a wide range of feelings: worry, excitement, nervousness, uncertainty, even wrestling with feelings of failure in certain areas.

I circled how many on the list I felt like I was looking at from God’s perspective compared with merely a human point of view.

Only two.

Yikes.

And it was the two topics NOT consuming my mind as much as the others.

This is why I love the Lord, and I love my times with Him each day. This particular day I was on my bench outside (encouraged by some beautiful weather lately), coffee in hand, just taking time to let Him teach me from His Word. And He is always faithful to do so. To change me. To help me realign with His perspective when my own point of view starts to take over.

Maybe the things I feel like a failure in right now are God’s way of teaching me humility, of putting me through the Refiner’s Fire until I can stop getting depressed and discouraged and instead reflect Christ even when things don’t go how i think it would be best for my own comfort and success.

The things that worry me seem smaller when I look at the same concerns from a godly perspective, especially the perspective of eternity. The things that are most important are things that will last: Sharing Jesus and praying for people to receive His forgiveness and new life in Christ.

What about you? What in your life right now might you need a fresh perspective on from God’s point of view?

Thank You Jesus for Your faithfulness to help get me back on track when I start to look at life from merely a human point of view instead of Yours. Focus us all more fully on Your priorities today instead of our own. Amen.


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Need a Laugh?

| Karen

🤣Need a laugh this holiday season? 🤣Buy my new book, Army Nerd! When I was 18, I felt like God was calling me to become an Army Nurse, though I was the most unlikely candidate for the job. A terribly shy, out of shape, sheltered nerd, I obeyed and signed on the dotted line.

Learn about the time we had to march with mops, the most embarrassing award I ever received, and what happens when you decide to take a spontaneous vacation in a foreign country by hopping on whatever train comes next!

I hope these stories will not only entertain but encourage you to take a step of faith, no matter how unexpected the calling.

Buy your copy at the link below today!

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Don’t Go Any Faster than this Very Moment

| Karen

“Don’t go any faster than this very moment.” These are the lyrics from a song I love, “Roses” by Andrew Ripp. (Full song below.)

So often I am thinking ahead- anywhere from tomorrow’s To Do list to our yearly school/sports family calendar to financial status in 40 years if we start saving this much per month….

Then I look at how almost-grown my teenagers are now, and I start thinking back… to when they were younger and how much they’ve even changed in the past year, wondering how time flew by so fast.

I need to be reminded to “not go any faster than this very moment.” Letting this phrase stick in my mind this past month, I can say that I have truly savored each day… when the boys ask to play frisbee, when we take the dogs on a beach day trip, when we have a special meal out or even all watch a movie at home together. Even when the dogs got car-sick on the way home from the beach, and the next morning we had to roll down the windows to survive the ride to church when apparently our best cleaning job was no match for Georgia heat… then thankful for my husband who took the car promptly to get a professional clean! Even when I wash dishes and the sink is full again an hour later, with random socks around the house and syrup left out on the kitchen table. I feel like I’m more behind on cleaning this past month than before, but I have used what time I wasn’t working to really be present with my family. Because life goes too fast, seasons change, health comes and goes… each day is too precious to miss by trying to rush through it.

I also love in this song how it says Jesus “planted the tree where He would die, put thorns down the vine, then He wore them.” When you stop to think that the crucifixion was not a last minute plan but a methodical purpose planned even before mankind first sinned- since God knew in advance we would- how many times He could have stopped it… yet He loves us this much that He planted the tree where He would die… and went all the way through the painful death to take my punishment and make a way for me- and you- to be forgiven and with Jesus forever! Wow.

Take time to think about Jesus’ great love for you today, and no matter the good or bad day, try not to rush it.

Unexpected Answers

| Karen

Sometimes Jesus gives answers different than what we want. Put yourself in the shoes of a man unable to walk. Paralyzed. Before the days of wheelchairs. We don’t know if only his legs or also his arms were paralyzed. We don’t know how. We do know that he and his friends heard there was a Healer named Jesus around, and they got the inside scoop on just where He’d be next. They carried the paralyzed man on a stretcher. How many friends? Two? Four? Did they walk a far distance in the desert-like heat? Bring more friends to rotate out? Leave in a hurry or plan a journey lasting days?

Good news! They found Jesus just as he was getting out of a boat.

“Back in the boat, Jesus and the disciples recrossed the sea to Jesus’ hometown. They were hardly out of the boat when some men carried a paraplegic on a stretcher and set him down in front of them. Jesus, impressed by their bold belief, said to the paraplegic…” (Matthew 9:1-2a MSG)

What did Jesus say? What did the paralyzed man and his friends expect Him to say? Sounded promising, after all Jesus was impressed by their bold belief! Surely He would heal and yet…

“Jesus, impressed by their bold belief, said to the paraplegic, “Cheer up, son. I forgive your sins.” (Matthew 9:2b MSG)

I used to hear this story and think this was a disappointing answer. Forgiven sins? Was Jesus not aware of what their hearts were asking? Was He socially unaware? Unable to hear their thoughts?

Recently on a long car trip alone, I opened the Bible app and turned on the audio reading starting with Matthew 1 in the Message version just to use a different translation for a fresh view of familiar passages.

As I came to this story this time, having heard all the chapters before it (the genealogy, the visit of the wise men, temptation of Jesus, the Beatitudes and full Sermon on the Mount, healing of a leper, healing of a Centurion’s daughter, calming a storm, driving out demons) which all show that Jesus is indeed God in the flesh- I finally could see it from God’s perspective that when humans (paralyzed or not, in need of physical healing or not) encounter God there is only one need that surpasses all others.

The need to escape God’s wrath.

What causes God’s wrath? Our disobedience. How can we escape God’s wrath? Only through the forgiveness of His Son Jesus. Thankfully, this is the very reason God came to earth in a physical body to take on the punishment we deserve to purchase our forgiveness with His own blood.

This is forgiveness we cannot earn, we can only receive it as a gift from Jesus who did all the work on the cross then defeated death by coming back to life.

Forgiveness.

Now, what struck me is that if the story ended there, it would still be a wonderful story. Even if the man remained paralyzed and his friends had to carry him home to continue lying on a stretcher for the rest of his earthly years.

Why? Because this life is but a breath, and this man would once again come face to face with God upon his death… and it didn’t matter whether his legs worked. The only thing that mattered was the words Jesus had spoken to him:

“Cheer up, son. I forgive your sins.” (Matthew 9:2b MSG)

Yet the story continues…

“Some religion scholars whispered, “Why, that’s blasphemy!” Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, “Why this gossipy whispering? Which do you think is simpler: to say, ‘I forgive your sins,’ or, ‘Get up and walk’? Well, just so it’s clear that I’m the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both. . . .” At this he turned to the paraplegic and said, “Get up. Take your bed and go home.” And the man did it. The crowd was awestruck, amazed and pleased that God had authorized Jesus to work among them this way.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭9‬:‭3-8 MSG

Sometimes Jesus heals physically, even today. Sometimes He does not. But He always offers forgiveness.

“But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it’s now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭21‬-‭26‬ ‭MSG‬‬

If you don’t know Jesus’ forgiveness personally yet, I encourage you to read through the full book of Matthew. Believe and know that the God who made you loved you deeply- deeply enough to sacrifice Himself in your place so you can be forgiven and clean in His sight and be with Him forever.

When We Are Afraid

| Karen

Thunderstorms have become something of a production in our home ever since our dog Sugar ran away during one last year. It was the next day before we could find her (a miracle my husband even found her about 3 miles from home!) so she had been outside all night in the storm.

Now she can tell a storm is coming about two hours before we can. She starts to shake from head to toe, then grabs any pillow, chair cushion, or blanket she can find, scooting them backwards into corners or behind couches. After two or three seconds, she decides another place would be safer so she slides her whole “nest” to another corner, then another, always moving, never settling. If we happen to not be home when the storm comes, we come home to a mess as she’s tried to hide herself behind the dryer or behind the toilet. She has even tried to hide herself in the (cold) fireplace and we have to hold her back. Her panic puts her own safety in jeopardy.

Panic

So now I watch the weather closely. If there’s even a chance of rain, I make sure she stays indoors. If we must leave and there’s a chance of rain, I take measures to ensure she can’t harm herself (close the bathrooms and laundry room, cover the fireplace).

After going through several storms with her now, I know how to help her. For example, I watched the weather predictions this week and saw big storms were predicted yesterday afternoon. So with her usual breakfast I ground up a “Calm” pill for dogs we found on Amazon that helps her. (Now she’s super smart and doesn’t like the taste of the pill- if I try to give her a treat with it in but don’t offer the same to our other dog, she won’t eat it. If I feed her canned food she loves at anytime other than her regular breakfast or dinner time, she’s suspicious and won’t eat it with the pill in it. If she’s already shaking because the storm is two hours away I can only force feed it to her which I don’t like to do, so I must crush it up in her breakfast bowl if any storms are predicted that day and act like I don’t care which dog eats from which bowl though I do make sure she gets the one with the calm pill in it.).

Anyways… so we started with that pill yesterday morning. It doesn’t make her groggy just tones down her hyper nature. She was taking her usual nap in the afternoon and it started to rain. She woke with a start and looked at me with panic in her eyes. I spoke to her with reassurance in my voice. I got her Thundervest which helps a little (a dog vest wrapped snugly around her). I pre-placed pillows and blankets in a corner of the office I work in at home so she wouldn’t have to drag them. I sat on the floor with her. I played instrumental calming hymns (now I know you think I’m crazy) because it helps block out some of the sound of the wind and rain. She’s not as cuddly as our other dog but she does like to sit near me in the storm. The worst of the storm only lasted about thirty minutes. With all these steps, she’s progressively started to get calmer through the storms. And for the first time afterwards, when it was still raining but no longer thundering, she seemed to be super happy, wagging her tail and even smiling as I rejoiced with her that she made it!

(Okay, I know at this point you realize how deeply I care about my dogs, I probably overdo it a bit.)

Learning to rest in the storm

Now to the point…. Watching my dog go through this fear and learning how to help her through it makes me think about how God relates to us. God doesn’t need to watch the weather predictions. He knows when storms are going to come into our lives- things that make us afraid. Things that make us panic and not think straight.

#1: How important it is for me to eat my daily “breakfast” of His Word even on days I have no expectation of a storm. His Word has the calming medicine I need to prepare me for the storms. If I never read His Word except when I’m already panicked, it will be harder to comprehend, harder to retain.

#2: In the midst of the scary seasons of life, listening to Christian music or even an audio Bible helps me focus on God more than my fear. It helps to lift the depression and despair that can set in when I only focus on the bad news. Now I’m not talking about just one or two songs but an almost constant backdrop of Christian music or the Bible… while eating breakfast, doing laundry, walking around the block, working (if possible), driving- even sleeping. Listening to this more than to our fears lifts our spirits and turns our focus back to Christ.

#3: I need to not run away from God in the scary times but snuggle right up next to Him- let Him wrap me snugly in His loving arms, comfort me even when I don’t understand what’s going on around me, press in close despite my fear.

#4: I need to rejoice with Him when He gets me through the storms. And I need to remember prior storms He’s gotten me through, thanking Him in advance that He will never leave me or forsake me no matter what fearful days come.

Happy again

Lord Jesus, help us to press in close to You whatever storm of life is raging around us right now. Keep our minds and hearts fixed on You, bring us peace and comfort and an assurance that You will never leave us or forsake us. Amen.

A New Year’s Poem

| Karen 


As New Year’s resolutions, plans, and goals
Swirl ‘round and ‘round my mind
Motivation falls short, plans start to fade
No rest in this mind to find

“I’ll Work hard- save more- spend less” I say, 
“Run hard- lift weights- compete!”
“I’ll lose weight, tone up, go All-In”
“Eat better:  No fats! No sweets!”

“Declutter, clean house, spring clean every closet!”
“This year I’ll get everything right!”
Too many goals, success not in sight
My mind filled only with strife

Exhaustion: It lies ahead of me now
When I try to do all at one time
In my own strength, not God’s above
And no peace will I ever find.

So, Lord, I receive this New Year’s gift
From Your heart so dear
A “fresh start”- a “blank slate”- the gift that You give
To us each day of the year.

For Your mercies are new- (When? Just one day or two? No)
EVERY morning of the year
Even after the New Year’s Day is gone
We still have a fresh start so dear

A fresh start of Your grace, Your mercy and love
Your kindness with patience so strong
For this gift I thank You, my Lord Jesus Christ
With You there is no wrong

So maybe this year not 10 goals I need
(To be broken by Jan. 16th)
But a DAILY resolve to ABIDE in the Lord
(Do I even know what this means?)

It’s starting each day with Christ on my mind
Spending time in worship and praise
Reading His Word with a listening heart
Giving myself with hands that are raised

It’s getting my tasks fresh from Him each day
Each sin to quickly confess
It’s reaching out to someone He lays on my heart
“More of Him, and of me now be less”

It’s giving away what I need for tomorrow
To someone who needs it today
And living by faith for my daily bread
Choosing joy - not worry- each day.

Now to live THIS way- one day at a time
Consistently relying on Him
Wow- what a change one year could THEN bring!
And what an adventure we’d live!








MicroScopic

| Karen

Being the detail-oriented person that I am, one thing I have to be on guard against in homeschool is turning it into one massive To Do List. Yes, there are things that need to be completed for each subject, and I have a large spreadsheet listing the remaining weeks of the current school year and which lessons we need to have completed by each week in order to stay on track, for a total of twelve topics (yes, sometimes I think we may be overdoing it).

When I focus too much on this list, I get stressed and rushed, and school days lose some of the joy that comes with learning.

One of the best examples of this for me was last week – the Apologia Biology textbook said it was time for my oldest son Caleb to do an experiment. Sometimes my tendency is to skip these because of the time they take (not to mention the mess). It’s easy to think that just reading the textbook is sufficient.

But for this experiment, we decided to give it a try. It came in two parts. The first part involved putting four different materials in four small glass jars (rice, grass, soil, and an egg yolk), then adding a scoop of pond water into each, and leaving it in a warm dark place for a few days.

(Side note: Our warm dark place of choice, being winter, was the laundry room. We covered the jars with a towel, but I had to warn my family not to just scoop up that towel with any other towels and throw it into the washing machine – can you imagine the mess?)

Boat on pond

Five days later (which is the last day that the book said the experiment would be successful), none of us really felt up to looking at everything under the microscope. We started with the prepared slides – dead and dyed organisms purchased as part of the Apologia curriculum.

Our microscope is not the highest quality – and with the light bulb out, we have to carefully arrange the flashlight of an iPhone so that it illuminates the right part of the slide while trying to figure out what parts of our view are just dirt on the inner eyepiece we can’t seem to remove compared to the actual image we are trying to view.

After four slides, none of which we were able to view well with our microscope issues, we were all pretty tired and frustrated. I almost called the whole experiment quits right there.

But then, when we opened the first jar of pond water and added a single drop to a slide, I literally gasped as everything came into focus.

There were living creatures swimming everywhere. We could look at the pictures in the textbook and figure out what several of the microscopic organisms were – a large amoeba, some algae, and several paramecium. Each of the four jars had different content on the slides based on the different “food” types that had helped the organisms grow. (For a quick 1-minute video that looks similar to what we saw, click here.)

When my husband came home for lunch, we were all talking over each other to explain what we were so excited about, as we put each slide back on the microscope to share our joy with him. Even after my sons were done with the experiment and starting to clean it all up, I found myself taking another look at each slide just to take the time to marvel at the tiny world teeming with life.

It just reminds me how creative God is – so much He has made is elaborate yet smaller than we can even see with our bare eyes. Why do I sometimes act as if I think God is too busy for me, forgets me, or fails to see me – when I can see the intricate details of His creation that is so much smaller than myself?

“Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! For who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.” Romans 11:33-36 NLT

“Relying on God” Paperback Now Available

| Karen

The paperback version of my devotional is now available on Amazon! Click here. I included a sample below of Day 11 in the devotional… I hope it blesses you!

Day 11:  Included

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation.”   Ephesians 1:13a (NIV)

      Included. We all long for inclusion.  Rejection hurts.  Fear of rejection even hinders us from obeying God at times.  We fear that others will laugh at us when we witness to them.  We fear that when take a step of faith, trying to use the spiritual gifts God has given us, we will not be well received or even successful in the world’s eyes.

       The word “included” conveys the idea of a group.  You can’t be “included” in isolation.  Look back at Ephesians 1:13a – who are the other member(s) in the group we are included in?  Write the answer in the blank:  

       We are included in __________________.

       Paul goes on in the book of Ephesians to spend a lot of time making sure the Gentiles (non-Jewish people) understood that they were included with the Jews in God’s plan of redemption.  Together in the church.  Included in the promises of God. 

“Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.” Ephesians 2: 11-12 (NIV)

We were separate from Christ, excluded, foreigners. But look at the next verse:

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13 (NIV)

       “But now.”  I love this wording.  You and I were separate, excluded, foreigners – far away.

       But now.

       In Christ.

       We have been brought near to Christ.  Our inclusion continues in the next verses:

“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.  Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”  Ephesians 2:14-22 (NIV)

       This passage is rich with phrases showing how we are no longer excluded but included with Christ and with His people.  We were excluded:  Separate, foreigners, far away, strangers. We are now included:  Made one, reconciled to God, given access to the Father, citizens, members, being built together.     

       If our identity in Christ is as one included in Him, what does this say about Christ? He wants us.  He sought us like the parable of the good shepherd leaving the 99 sheep to seek out the one who was lost (Luke 15:1-7).  He sacrificed Himself to defeat everything that formerly excluded us from God – our own sin and hostility – in order to redeem us and include us in Christ with access to the Father as citizens of God’s people and now members of His household.

Take Time to Reflect

  1. How does knowing that you are included in Christ help you face rejection from the world?  What specific situation in your life can you apply this to today?
  2. Which hurts you more personally– rejection from fellow Christians or non-Christians?  Can you think of a possible reason for your answer?
  3. Later in Ephesians, Paul reminds us that our battle is not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12).  Who is our battle against?  What are some reasons that Satan wants to attack and destroy the unity of the church?
  4. Knowing that rejection from the church has the potential to turn someone away from Christ, what are some ways that you can practically love others in your own local church today and remind them that they are included in Christ?